necessary
adj. · n.-
1 needed (adj.) A2 Elementaryneeded in order to do something or to get a result.
required or essential for a particular purpose or to achieve a specific result.
ExampleIs it necessary to bring my passport to the bank today?
ExampleThe committee decided that a full audit was necessary before they could approve the next phase of the project.
UsageOften used in the pattern 'it is necessary (for someone) to do something'.
PitfallIt is necessary for you doing it.It is necessary for you to do it.The adjective 'necessary' is followed by a 'to' infinitive, not a gerund (-ing form).
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2 unavoidable (adj.) B2 Upper Intermediatesomething that must happen and cannot be avoided.
logically or physically inescapable; certain to occur.
ExampleThe company made some necessary changes to save money.
ExampleWhile the transition was difficult, most staff agreed it was a necessary consequence of the merger.
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3 toilet (n.) C2 Proficiency Archaic Humorous Dialectan old-fashioned or funny way to talk about the toilet.
a euphemistic term for a lavatory or outhouse.
ExampleThe old cottage still had an outdoor necessary at the back of the garden.
ExampleIn the historical novel, the characters frequently referred to the outhouse as the necessary.
UsageUsually used with the definite article 'the'.
Teacher's tipThis sense is very rare in modern English and is mostly found in period literature or used as a joke.
- privy
- outhouse
- latrine
From Middle English necessarye, from Old French necessaire, from Latin necessārius (“unavoidable, inevitable, required”), variant of necesse (“unavoidable, inevitable”), probably from ne or non cessum, from the perfect passive participle of cēdō (“yield; avoid, withdraw”); see cede. Older use as a noun in reference to an outhouse or lavatory under the influence of English and Latin necessārium, a medieval term for the place for monks’ “unavoidable” business, usually located behind or attached to monastic dormitories.
- Adjectivenecessary
- Adverbnecessarily